Parallel Lines
by Nezkov Sou
Summary: Sequel to Dead Line. HiruSena. Slight AU. "If it's impossible, I'll make it possible." I bore my eyes hard into his, "I will." As if almost spontaneously, he spoke, "You can't, Hiruma-senpai."


Sequel to Dead Line – Parallel Lines

Disclaimer: I do not own ES21 or the song used.

A/n: AU. HiruSena, don't like, don't read. Please read Endline and Dead Line before reading this.

This is the final shot for the Lines Trilogy (laughs).

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* * *

_

You took a hammer to these walls,  
Dragged the memories down the hall,  
Packed your bags and walked away.  
There was nothing I could say.  
And when you slammed the front door shut,  
A lot of others opened up,  
So did my eyes so I could see  
That you never were the best for me.

"_Over You" – Chris Daughtry_

* * *

The first time our eyes met each other's was somewhere in Autumn. The last time I saw those dark honey brown eyes was Winter. When those artificial eyelids concealed the precious orbs, I thought that everything in this world was meaningless. Before I met him, I never had any reason to live. I carried on living, because I was still alive; even though I had felt as if I was a walking dead. The world had nothing, I had nothing. And then, while I was aimlessly strolling through the night, I met him.

Kobayakawa Sena.

A living puppet.

I wonder. If I had not met him that time, would I still be the same me as I am now?

As soon as I let my emerald eyes sink into those gleaming dark eyes, I felt a spark inside me. A feeling I never had. Something I never thought of. Warmth that I had lost. It was love. I, Hiruma Youichi, fell in love.

A painful, bitter, impossible love.

And when Winter crossed our path, he shut down. I was ditched, left behind, left alone. I thought loving him was my reason for being alive. But when he was no more living, what was I to do? No, I did not suicide. I kept on living.

Spring came.

He stepped into my life.

Kobayakawa Sena.

A living human.

The moment I set my eyes on him, adrenaline rushed into me and my body was shivering in excitement. A suffocating sensation. We got together, and as time easily flew pass, the end had to drop by. He found out what I had been doing to his puppet self and our relationship broke into pieces. I was lost. Without hesitation, I destroyed the puppet. I called him, told him. Told him that I destroyed it. Told him that I was over with it.

There were so much of things that I wanted to tell him. So much regrets. So much words that I never dreamt I would say.

But he hung up on me.

Without even letting me finish.

…

He never answered my calls anymore.

* * *

I was not the person to give up easily of course. I would use anything to get what I wanted, even dirty methods. But not this time. I wanted to do this with my own hands. No tricks, no cheats, no traps. Just simply get him to listen me out. And what ever his answers will be, I would react accordingly when I know them. But fuck, he really owned a pair of sneaky legs.

Crowds did not affect me, so he would never feel safe by blending into the crowds. Actually it became my disadvantage. With his small body, he could easily slide through the tiniest gaps and dashed off with those quick legs. However, I was not born with an athlete body despite how hard I trained myself, and the people running away to open a way for me were slow at doing that. The moment I got rid of myself from the mass of people, I had lost him.

This cat and mouse game had been going on for some time. I knew that it was useless of me to chase after him. What would I tell him? What would I do? I did not plan anything; nothing, no backups. This was not my usual self who was known to have every single trick up his sleeves ready to be put into action and destroy the opposing side to a shattered mess. Despite knowing the wrong, I kept on chasing him, trying to capture him and not letting go before I could finally settle everything. Damn it. Patience was not my strongest point.

Before long, Summer was around the corner and the air carried the voices of the crickets. The heat was acting on my nerves and snapped every last strands of patience I had left. This chase had to come to an end. My words had to be put through his head. The questions had to be answered. I could wait no longer.

"Here me out, fucking shrimp!" I yelled across the corridor, dashing, chasing his back, "Stop right there!"

No answer from him was given. Instead he kept on running, accelerating; his small back growing fader in the distance. People were already pressed against the walls, fearing the sight of me. I turned a sharp corner, the blueprint of the school in my mind. My legs were starting to sore, but I did not break my sprint, wanting to make it in time to catch him. A double door stood at the end of the way and I threw myself into it, the sudden brightness of the sun blinding my emerald eyes temporarily. This was the back of the school building. I was not sure why I came here, but I had the feeling that I should be here. And oh, this sixth sense of mine is really wonderful.

The brunet appeared at the corner and not able to stop his run, he collided right onto me, sending the both of us to the ground. I was first to recover and I grabbed his arm in instinct, like a predator capturing its prey.

"You fucking shrimp!" I yelled in fury, my hand tightening the grip on his thin arm, "I told you to stop, didn't I?!"

"…P-please…" a small whimper escaped his lips, stinging my burning chest.

Hazy honey brown eyes were fixed on my emerald ones. The orbs had lost their gleam of happiness, replaced with a dull translucent layer of fear. Pain and agony; dread and horror. Tears were staining the corner of his eyes, his will preventing them to fall. That determination was the flame that made him able to look at me in the eyes and not running away any more. Being near this person who had tainted his puppet self, must have been terrifying for him. Did he think that I would do the same to him?

I breathed in and out, calming myself, before saying in a low tone, "Why did you run away from me?"

He blinked once, showing that the question was not what he had expected. Then in a quiet voice, he answered, his voice slightly shaky, "…because you were…" he swallowed, "you were chasing after me…"

A heavy blow slammed into my chest and relief gushed out, washing all the burdens off me. His answer was foolish, but I was not the least bit angered. Instead, I felt glad. Glad that the answer was not fearing or hating me. If he had said because I had done the unforgivable, I would not have known how to react to it.

My grip loosened; my body light and tired. I heaved a sigh and his arm dropped to his side. The eye contact broke, mine staring up at the sky, his down on the ground. We had just realized how idiotic we were to play this chase. The uneasiness around him stayed and I did not blame him for that. I leaned against the wall and continued gazing at the clouds.

"There's still so much that I wanted to say to you," I spoke absent-mindedly, "that time."

His shudder did not go unnoticed, but he stood where he was, remembering the day when I burned the puppet. I glanced at him before returning my gaze back to the slowly drifting white clouds, "You hung up. Before I could say another word." I straightened up, "Why is that?"

For a brief moment, his eyes remained unfocused on the ground, before looking up straight at me, those tired dark brown orbs. "I… I don't know for sure," he whispered.

"Were you afraid of me?" the question came in a soft voice, not wanting to further build the fear on him.

He nodded once, and his gaze returned to the ground.

I stared at his dark brown messy hair, wanting to turn back the time. If I have destroyed the puppet sooner, this mess would not happen and our relationship would continue. Why did I have to do it at that time? So much did I want to touch him; hold him in my arms. I had longed to kiss those soft human lips of him, feel his skin against mine, and touch every end of his body. Savour him, devour him. Feel the pleasure he gave me.

At the last thought, I came back to my senses and had to blink hard to erase the imagination from my mind. Swallowing in silence, I whispered, "Were you afraid of me?" my emerald eyes glanced at him, "Or were you afraid of what I did?"

The question had yet taken him by surprise and he shot up his head in surprise. His honey brown eyes were gazing right into my own green ones and we stayed in that position for what felt like forever. I could picture his gears of thought clicking in work and finally stopped at a conclusion. He gulped and dropped his gaze back to the ground, slightly shaking his head.

"Honestly…" he murmured, but audible enough for me to hear, "I… that time. I was panicking and afraid. I didn't know what to do or say. So I… I decided to hang up…"

That was not the answer that I had expected. It seemed that we had been in a very big misunderstanding of each other. I had thought that he hung up because he hated or feared me. He hung up because he feared that I would do the same thing to him as what I did to the puppet, which I would not do. This was a major mistake for the both of us.

I dropped my gaze to the ground, the spot where he was staring at. If putting that misunderstanding aside, will I be able to tell him what I had meant to tell him?

"Then, will you hear me out?" my voice was low in caution.

No reply was given but the fact that he did not refuse indicated that he would listen to whatever I had to say. Those words that I had been meaning to say before he hung up.

"I know I screwed up being with the puppet, but being with you is different. If I would to put it frankly, I was in love with the puppet. But I willingly destroyed it to be with you." I paused to see his reaction, but he stayed as how he was, and I continued.

"You are the first human who did not turn away even after knowing who I am. You are a treasure to me; one that I never want to lose. It is my mistake to use the puppet and my greatest regret that you saw me. So-" I hesitated. What word should I use? Friendship? Relationship?

"So, can we mend back the companionship we had?"

An unpleasant silence settled in as he contemplated on his answer. This stressful situation was weighing me down; his answer, the final change. We would either get back to how we were or part off forever. My heart pounded noisily and I would not be surprised if he could hear it. The air was saturated with dread and the whispers of ghosts fluttered by my ears, teasing me into impatience. This was too overbearing. Although I knew that this was a not an easy choice, I could not help but wanted him to just choose one.

"I…" a murmur, and yet another pause which made me think that I was in some weird drama filled with annoying suspense. He did not continue, as if doubting his own choice. _Please just fucking say it! _

"I'm sorry."

For a moment I registered the sounds of the crickets and the rustles of leaves in the light warm breeze. The sun above was bright, white streams of light pouring in from the gaps of the leaves. It was warm, but had all Summer been this scorching hot? Was it the temperature, or was it my body? Another sound was heard, louder than the crickets.

_Thump! Thump! Thump!_

My heart. It felt as if that life organ would pound my ribcage open. The blood rushed into my head and the pit of my stomach began to boil. In a blinded state of rage, I grabbed his shoulders, ignoring the fact that I might hurt him.

"Why?!" I yelled, fury apparent in my voice dripped with spite, "What is it that you aren't happy with?! If you want to see the burnt remains of that fucking puppet, I'll show you?!"

The grip on his shoulders tightened, the claw-like fingers dug deep into his skin. The brunet winced in pain but his smaller-built body could not fight back. "Please!" his voice rang with panic and fear, "Please stop! It hurts!"

"Tell me why?!" I paid no attention to his plea. I needed a reason. Why could he not accept me? He did accepted my notorious behaviour before, why could not he now? The puppet was completely destroyed so I could no longer use it. If he feared that I would use him, he could tell me and I would not do it. If it was him, I would oblige. So why?

"Please stop it Hiruma-senpai!"

I flinched and froze; the change in honorifics caught me by surprise. To other people, it would not matter much, but somehow I felt that it marked the growing distance between us. Previously, he had used '-san' but I was quite okay with it. Now all of a sudden, he had changed it and it stung me inside like a freezing piece of ice shard. It had not occurred to me that these things would shock me.

His head was bowed down; his honey brown eyes refusing to meet my emerald ones. My breathings were slightly ragged due to my outburst and I could still feel the anger inside.

"I… I don't t-think we can return… to how we were before…" his voice was shaking slightly and I could not help but wonder if he was crying.

"If we can't return," I whispered, "we can start anew."

There was a short hesitation before he shook his head lightly. "I can't."

His words were short and simple, yet they hurt more than snake's venom. Those easy straight-forward words. 'I'm sorry'. 'Please stop'. 'Hiruma-senpai'. 'I can't'. Usually those kinds of words would not affect much, but it did to me, especially if it was from him.

"At least tell me the reason. If it's something about me, I can change." I hated the way I said it. Those words sounded hopeful and I, the so-called devil, never believed in hopes or miracles.

Again, he shook his head. "No. Even if I say it," he glanced up; his eyes dull, "there's nothing that you can do to change."

My eyes narrowed into silts. "Are you saying it's impossible?"

Those honey brown eyes gazed at me and I could easily read the words behind them; that he was not sure of the answer. I answered for him.

"If it's impossible, I'll make it possible." I bore my eyes hard into his, "I will."

As if almost spontaneously, he spoke, "You can't, Hiruma-senpai."

That honorific, I despised it so much. But what I heard next made me loathe myself to the extend where I would kill all humans and destroy the entire world.

_

* * *

_

One year later…

The crowds were a normal occurrence in this part of Tokyo, the Shibuya district, and I had adapted into the mass of people; just another figure. The heated up temperature crawling on my skin reminded me that this was Summer. Exactly one year after that day.

As soon as I graduated from my third years, I enrolled into Saikyoudai University, making my existence gone from that fucking high school. I did not attend the graduation ceremony, not wanting to see his face any longer, because if I did, I might force him into something he did not want. I still had feelings for him…

A sigh escaped my lips. The days when I felt alive had long gone. I was again back to how I was way before. The time when I felt like a walking dead. Something had gone missing, I knew. But I could not put my finger on what that thing is. Something that I had forgotten the day I left Deimon High. Like a piece of memory stored somewhere in the back of the mind, unable to be retrieved without the right key.

My emerald green eyes gaze ahead and that was when I caught the attention of a person. A teenager around seventeen, with messy dark brown hair and gleaming honey brown eyes. Him. The person that I vowed to forget.

He too had caught sight of me, and in that moment, time seemed to stop for us. The recollection of the year before played back like an old movie, the voices distant but nostalgic. Those feelings, those emotions, those events were all real.

And finally, I could grasp what was missing. The words he said the last time we were face-to-face.

"_Because I'm afraid of you." He had a small smile grazed on his lips but his eyes showed the despair and fear. The truth._

_Why did he smile? Say, was not I the evil one here?_

"_Hiruma-senpai," his touch on my hand was feather-light, "Let's end this already."_

No. He was the evil one. Unknowingly, he was the one who raised my hopes high and then shattering them easily as hammer to glass. The way he destroyed me was not extravagant or anything special. It was simple. Simple words, easily said. A smile with eyes telling the truth. That simplicity was the deadly weapon. That simplicity was evil. But evil was it, it held the obvious truth to everything.

There was no way we could continue with fear embedded deeply into one of us and another rage and regret. This relation would not work out and nothing could avoid it. Two evils, two victims. They would not ever be together.

As our paths came nearer, he gave me a soft smile and I nodded in acknowledgment. We took different routes; each going to where the other came from.

We are like parallel lines, walking side by side.

But never would we meet at the end.

_

* * *

_

Well, I never saw it coming.  
I should've started running  
A long, long time ago.  
And I never thought I'd doubt you,  
I'm better off without you  
More than you, more than you know.  
I'm slowly getting closure.  
I guess it's really over.  
I'm finally getting better.  
And now I'm picking up the pieces.  
I'm spending all of these years  
Putting my heart back together.  
'Cause the day I thought I'd never get through,  
I got over you.

"_Over You" – by Chris Daughtry _

* * *

End of Lines

Nezkov Sou


End file.
